List of coalition military operations of the Iraq War

This is a list of coalition military operations of the Iraq War, undertaken by Multi-National Force – Iraq. The list covers operations from 2003 until December 2011. For later operations, see American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present).

2003

Though the initial war lasted for only 26 days, the coalition soon found themselves fighting insurgent forces. Upon completion of the initial conflict the coalition troops began counterinsurgency, humanitarian, security, and various other types of operations to stabilize the country.

2004

During the early occupation, a number of widely cited humanitarian, tactical, and political errors by coalition planners, particularly the United States and United Kingdom led to a growing armed resistance, usually called the "Iraqi insurgency" (referred to by the mainstream media and coalition governments). The anti-occupation/anti-coalition forces are believed to be predominantly, but not exclusively, Iraqi Sunni Muslim Arabs, plus some foreign Arab and Muslim fighters, some of the latter tied to al-Qaeda. Several minor coalition members have pulled out of Iraq; this has been widely considered a political success for the anti-occupation forces.

Despite this, there was a reduction in violence throughout Iraq in the start of 2004 due to reorganization within the insurgent forces. During this time the tactics used by coalition forces were studied and the insurgency began to plan a new strategy.